Yangon's murder rate surges past last year's level, police say
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Crime rates are surging in Yangon Region, with the number of reported murders and robberies already surpassing the numbers for all of last year, according to the Yangon Region police.
From January to September this year 148 murders were reported, compared to 130 for all of last year. The number of robberies is also up, though it is believed this crime is vastly under-reported. Thirty-seven robberies were reported in the January to September period compared to 33 last year.
Police said that 125 of the 148 murder cases are before the courts, while 23 remain under investigation. Half of the robbery cases are now before the courts, they added.
The number of reported rapes in the first nine months of the year was 110, police said. They did not provide a figure from last year. Twenty home burglaries were also reported during the first nine months of the year, they said.
Although arrests have been made in most cases, the perpetrators of at least two double homicides remain at large, including one in Mingalardon Township last year, on November 19. The killer of a 36-year-old woman and her nine-year old child has also yet to be apprehended. Both victims had their throats slit.
More than 2,600 criminals have yet to be apprehended for crimes. The Yangon Region Police Force aims to arrest half of them within six months time, according to Lt-Colonel Myint Htwe.
Crime rates are rising because more people are living in abject poverty and struggling to survive, Myint Htwe said.
